The Simple Reason Jed's A Bachelorette Frontrunner

Jed Is A Bachelorette Frontrunner Because Of A Little Thing Called R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Jed Wyatt made a bold move on last week’s episode of The Bachelorette, confessing to Hannah during a one-on-one date that he had initially signed up for the competition for — dun dun dun — the wrong reasons. Specifically, Jed told Bachelorette Hannah that initially, he realized getting screen time on the show would be a “huge platform” for his music.

The moment was a breaking of the fourth wall, and a potential faux pas, but luckily for Jed (and us!), Hannah was into his honesty-first tactic and rewarded him with a rose. But while we were all focused on how bold that move was, we missed the larger, more important piece of Jed's time with Hannah: a little thing called R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

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As any devoted Bachelorette fan knows, what matters in the end is not so much what these dudes say as it is what they do. Take, for instance, Luke P., who told Hannah on night two of their journey together that he was already falling in love with her, but who, two episodes later, was getting irritatingly needy and possessive. Mama didn’t like that!

Jed, meanwhile, has been respectful of Hannah from the start, despite their obvious physical chemistry, and there’s no doubt in our minds that this will go far in a competition that can get overly touchy-feely for all parties involved. During their one-on-one date, Jed largely let Hannah lead, holding her hand as they strolled through Boston, not being too aggro in the close quarters of the photo booth, and shyly kissing her in front of patrons at the bar from Cheers.

Then, during the Boston Celtics portion of their date, he took an opportunity or two to brush up against Hannah, but otherwise let her do her thing. (Fans will remember that when Hannah started backing her booty up against him at one point, he kept his hands where everyone — including Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier — could see them.)

His Southern charm even extends to little details, like how he opens doors and pulls out chairs for Hannah, and to bigger details, like how he handled that awkward situation on episode 2, wherein Jed walked in on Luke P. and Hannah getting uber sexual on a pop-up massage table. However you feel about old fashioned moves like opening doors and such, Jed has consistently led with respect rather than lust and physical aggression. It's a nice thing to see on a show that largely plays on outdated gender norms and often suggests that contestants should win the Bachelorette's affections, rather than earn them.

The way in which the men on the show treat our girl Hannah matters a whole lot, and speaks volumes about just what they’re investing into this experience. So given that Jed has been a largely stand-up dude from the start, giving Hannah her space (he memorably opted to give other guys a chance to chat with Hannah at a cocktail party rather than hog her time) and keeping his attention laser-focused on her (versus, say, any of the drama that’s unfolded thus far), we’re willing to bet that his respectful romancing will keep him a frontrunner in both the competition and in Hannah’s heart.